{"id":135777,"date":"2026-05-21T17:12:38","date_gmt":"2026-05-21T20:12:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ubirataonline.com.br\/people-depend-on-me-local-young-people-share-their-colorectal-cancer-stories\/"},"modified":"2026-05-21T17:12:41","modified_gmt":"2026-05-21T20:12:41","slug":"people-depend-on-me-local-young-people-share-their-colorectal-cancer-stories","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ubirataonline.com.br\/en\/people-depend-on-me-local-young-people-share-their-colorectal-cancer-stories\/","title":{"rendered":"‘People depend on me.’ Local young people share their Colorectal Cancer stories"},"content":{"rendered":"

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KALAMAZOO, Mich. \u2014 <\/span>\u201cAs a young person you don\u2019t ever think cancer is going to be part of your story,\u201d said Shameka Taylor, a 39-year-old Kalamazoo resident who\u2019s living with Stage 4 Colorectal Cancer.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt first I was angry. I was really angry,\u201d she said. \u201cWhy me? Why did this happen? And then I had to stop and I had to think and I had to say, \u2018Why not me?’\u201d<\/p>\n

Taylor was only 36 in August 2022 when she was diagnosed with Stage 3. The Colorectal Cancer Alliance says she\u2019s not alone.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople will say, \u2018Oh, is it because of the food we eat or where we live or what we\u2019re around?\u2019 But we really don\u2019t know why this alarming increase is happening,\u201d explained Michael Sapienza, CEO of the Colorectal Cancer Alliance.<\/p>\n

Colorectal Cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in people who are younger than 50, according to the Alliance, and as it is most screening guidelines recommend getting a colonoscopy once you turn 45.<\/p>\n

\u201cAdvocate for yourself,\u201d said Taylor. \u201cIf you feel like something is wrong, advocate and make sure that you\u2019re getting the tests you need. And if one doctor doesn\u2019t listen have another doctor look it over.\u201d<\/p>\n

She said she thought her symptoms were her anxiety and general fatigue from keeping up with her two sons. It wasn\u2019t until she started getting flu-like symptoms every several weeks that she realized something was wrong.<\/p>\n

\u201cI never once thought, \u2018This could be cancer.\u2019 I had Googled all my symptoms. Which they tell you not to do, and colon cancer came up,\u201d Taylor said. \u201cBut it showed that it was more relevant in people who were 70 so I didn\u2019t think that that was me.\u201d<\/p>\n

But that\u2019s exactly what the mass was\u2014and it\u2019s what started Taylor on her current cancer journey. To date she\u2019s had chemotherapy, four surgeries and now she\u2019s getting immunotherapy until September 2026.<\/p>\n

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Shameka Taylor of Kalamazoo is a 39-year-old living with Stage Four Colorectal Cancer. (WWMT)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cThe cancer had spread to my pancreas and bile duct and liver area so they\u2019ve had to remove a lot of that and they had to take part of my pancreas out,\u201d Taylor said. \u201cThey\u2019ve also had to remove my bile duct and resection my colon. I\u2019ve also had part of my stomach removed and then they reconnected everything back to function.<\/p>\n

“I have a very aggressive form of colon cancer and so I just know that I’m okay for three months,\u201d she said. \u201cIn three months I could have another scan and my world could be completely upside down again.”<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a feeling Howard Robinson II of Portage knows all too well. He\u2019s now been cancer-free for five years but he was also 36 when he was diagnosed with Stage Three in 2020.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople depend on me,\u201d he said. \u201cI have to be here, you know. It\u2019s not my time yet.\u201d<\/p>\n

Robinson says he knew something was wrong when his bowel movements started changing.<\/p>\n

\u201cI said, \u2018I know my body and I don\u2019t think it\u2019s constipation,\u201d he said of his doctor\u2019s visits. His stool sample and his blood sample both came back fine.<\/p>\n

His doctor ordered a colonoscopy and that\u2019s when they found the mass. From there Robinson would endure two surgeries, chemotherapy and radiation.<\/p>\n

“Don’t ignore your body telling you things,\u201d Robinson said. \u201cIf I had done that I wouldn\u2019t be here.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Howard<\/p>\n
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Howard Robinson II of Portage is a Colorectal Cancer survivor. (Howard Robinson II\/WWMT)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Neither Taylor nor Robinson have a family history of Colorectal Cancer so the warning signs might not always be evident.<\/p>\n

The Colorectal Cancer Alliance says you should watch out for these symptoms:<\/p>\n